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Family Bios: Aug 27, 2016

This family is from Iraq and consists of a mother, father and 2 daughters, ages 1 & 3, along with a grandmother (father’s mother). The family left Iraq in April 2014 due to religious persecution and fearing for their lives due to being Christian. They fled to Jordan where they have been in a refugee camp until arriving in the US in mid June. The father is a mechanic and is looking for work. The mother and grandmother stay home to take care of the young children. They have relatives still in Iraq who have not yet applied to become refugees, but the family is hoping they will soon. They are very happy to be here and have the ability to feel secure and start a new life.

This family is from Somalia and arrived in the US on July 19th. There is the mother and 4 daughters ranging in age from 8-20 years old. They left Somalia in 2011 due to so much war and fearing for their lives. They fled to Kenya near the refugee camp in Nairobi. The family had a refugee card to get food and refugee services, but they lived in a small village just outside the camp. The mother worked by selling produce at a fruit/vegetable stand and the 2 younger children were able to go to school. There are 3 other children that the mother had to leave behind ages 1, 2 and 3. This is a great source of sadness that she was not able to bring her babies with her and had to leave them with her niece. She hopes she will be able to have her babies join her over here at some point. The mother emphasizes how grateful she is to be here and the chance to start a new life. They do not have any other friends or family here but have been able to meet other Somali and refugee families that are their friends now.

Get to know more about the other family when you visit them at their home.